eight week training cycle for spring

April 1, 2012 / Matt Baldwin / 0 Comments

Sunday, April 1st begins a new, eight week training cycle for me. I choose an 8 week cycle of monitoring and reporting this time around because I live and operate on an academic schedule, and I’m more likely to get through the next 8 weeks uninterrupted than I am to get through a 10 or 12 week period without having to disrupt training because of vacation or something. The next cycle after this one will have to take into account the fact that, wherever I am, I’m going to want to be surfing. But I get ahead of myself.

Training Goals: my training goals remain the same. 300 lbs (1.5 x B.W.) squat and 400 lbs (2.0 x B.W.) deadlift. But my training emphasis shifts slightly during this eight week cycle, from striving for pure strength gains to prioritizing form improvement in both deadlift and squat, and recovery for my painful right shoulder. I also add a goal of preparing myself for summer surfing (next cycle), which requires a higher level of conditioning than I’ve been maintaining. My deadlifts have been hampered by a form problem: lumbar rounding during lifts. So I have drastically reset the lift to a lighter weight, to work on extension, and have increased volume dramatically, and plan to include RDLs and supermans as a regular part of working out as well. I will continue to use the SSB for squatting, hoping my right shoulder continues to benefit from the break from LBBS and also that I can use the unique form issues involved in the lift to supplement my quest for control of “extension” in the lower back. I have rewritten my program to put more emphasis on the deadlift and to make room for conditioning. That will become evident as I march through the program over the next few weeks.

Body Recomposition: I still have body recomposition goals, so this is a recomposition cycle. So far, in week I of the new cycle my average weight is a few pounds above my goal weight of 195. So in terms of quantitative measures, my goal for the 8 week period is to reach and then maintain an AVERAGE daily weigh-in of 195 lbs. I have to bring down the average weigh-in somewhat, between 1.86 and 2.75 lbs, to reach that goal. The method is the same I’ve been using: 12-14 hours of IF daily, periodic, ad hoc longer fasting, and generally “clean” eating (= more or less paleo, + limited dairy, alcohol, cleaner grains, and occasional “cheats.”) I made good progress in the last two weeks of my most recent training cycle by cutting out all alcohol for two weeks. So I feel strongly that alcohol needs to be limited to weekends only in this new cycle. I will, however, make exceptions for drinking out with colleagues if invited, on a Mon or Wed evening only. If at any point during the cycle my average weight drops below 195, I will add in a planned weekly cheat evening, most likely Saturdays. Before that time, I will avoid deliberate cheating and try to stay out of the kitchen after dinner. Once I hit and maintain 195, my goal is to continue to see improvement in my waist measure and skinfold measure. If the most recent average measure was 36.4″, I’d like to see that at 35.4″ at the end of week 8. And if my recent average skinfold measure was 10 mm, I’d like to see it at 8mm by the end of the period.

This training cycle runs from April 1st, 2012, to May 26th, 2012. The next cycle after that will be “Summer 2012.” I will write up a weekly report on my progress towards the goals I have laid out here.

What is “Baldwin’s Gym Notebook”?

I'm a middle aged college professor who, over the past six years, has been on a journey—a sort of Odyssey, really—of fitness and training. In this blog I share my thoughts and experiences along the way, in an effort to hold myself accountable, and possibly, to inform and entertain readers.

This blog used to be called "Training Board". Posts relating to these topics can be found on here going back to 2009.

I took about two years away from the blog, from March 2013 until March 2015. In that "dark period," a lot of things changed. But one thing that hasn't changed is my desire to live and to live well, and to include fitness, nutrition, and thoughtful reflection on training in my life.

Thank you for reading. If you feel like it, leave a comment. Let me know your thoughts too. Let me know how your training and life is going.